Vietnam to Install Sculptures Honoring North Korean Soldiers in Hanoi

Vietnam is set to install sculptures in Hanoi honoring North Korean soldiers who fought during the Vietnam War, in the latest sign of closer relations between Pyongyang and Hanoi.

A ceremony marking the foundation of the planned monument was held Friday at the Vietnam Military History Museum in the Vietnamese capital. North Korea’s state media said the monument would commemorate the two countries’ wartime solidarity and the contribution of Korean soldiers to Vietnam’s war effort.

The foundation plaque bears a message describing friendship between Vietnam and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name. Its inscription notes that the two countries established diplomatic relations in January 1950 and says North Korea provided both material and moral support during the conflict.

North Korea is believed to have dispatched nearly 400 military personnel to Vietnam during the war. That contingent included about 90 pilots who served between 1966 and 1969. The planned sculptures are intended to recognize what the plaque describes as the combat spirit and sacrifice of those personnel, while presenting their service as a symbol of bilateral unity.

Senior defense and diplomatic officials from both countries attended the ceremony. The North Korean delegation included Vice Defense Minister Ryo Chol-ung and Ambassador Ri Sung-guk, while Vietnam was represented by Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Truong Thang and other defense officials.

The delegation also traveled to a memorial in Bac Ninh City, north of Hanoi, dedicated to fallen Korean People’s Army soldiers. Members of the group laid a wreath at the site. The North Korean defense delegation, led by Ryo, has been visiting Vietnam since Sept. 22.

The memorial project comes amid a sustained effort by North Korea and Vietnam to strengthen a relationship rooted in decades of diplomatic cooperation. Earlier in September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Vietnamese President To Lam pledging to deepen bilateral ties as North Korea marked the anniversary of its founding.

High-level exchanges have accelerated over the past year. Lam visited North Korea last October, becoming the first Vietnamese president to travel there in 18 years. Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung went to Pyongyang in May for talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. The two countries’ security ministers also met in Pyongyang the following month to discuss broader cooperation in public security and law enforcement.

The Hanoi monument adds a visible historical symbol to that diplomatic momentum, highlighting military ties from the Vietnam War era as both governments pursue closer contemporary relations.